Arizona's Solomon back at practice; status to be determined Thursday
Arizona starting quarterback Anu Solomon returned to practice on Tuesday, but head coach Rich Rodriguez said his status for Saturday's game vs. Oregon State won't be determined until he's evaluated by medical personnel on Thursday.
Solomon suffered a concussion in Arizona's Sept. 26 loss to UCLA and sat out last week's loss at Stanford.
"Today was a very good day," Rodriguez said during his radio show Tuesday night. "We have two more days to test on that, and we'll see what happens."
Rodriguez also said that wide receiver Tyrell Johnson could see game action for the first time this season, but receiver Trey Griffey remains at least a week away.
He also said he's not expecting any reinforcements at linebacker.
Scooby Wright, Cody Ippolito, DeAndre Miller, Derrick Turituri and Haden Gregory have all missed games due to injury. The Wildcats started sophomore R.J. Morgan and former walk-ons Sir Thomas Jackson and Jake Matthews at linebacker last week against Stanford.
Oregon State (2-2, 0-1 Pac-12) had an extra week since its 42-24 loss to Stanford to prepare for Arizona (3-2, 0-2), while the Wildcats are entering Week 6 of their 12-game schedule without a bye.
Rodriguez said there's no choice but to deal with the compressed nature of the season.
"You don't have time to work out your kinks or find out things," he said. "If you're in a funk, or if you're not playing well or whatever the case may be, you've got to find a solution in a hurry."
When asked about his mental state after consecutive blowout losses to UCLA and Stanford, arguably his most difficult stretch in four seasons in Tucson, Rodriguez said: "Miserable, absolutely miserable. Inwardly. Outwardly, you try to be as positive as possible, because you know, it's not like the guys aren't trying.
"More than anything, I told the team you want to get back to that good feeling. Nothing feels good about losing."
